Rather than promise Mark Gasnier, Ewen McKenzie has quickly identified luring Berrick Barnes home as a key ploy in his Reds revival plans.

In a bold recruitment message on being appointed the seventh Queensland coach in a decade of Ballymore turmoil, McKenzie wants to reward the state's rich talent and return a host of lost Reds.

Just a month after being dumped by glamour Paris club Stade Francais, the former NSW Waratahs mentor was chosen ahead of John Connolly for the post left vacant by Phil Mooney's sacking.

McKenzie, originally tipped as the favourite to lead the proposed Melbourne franchise into the 2011 Super 15, was excited about the opportunity to revive Super rugby's perennial battlers after signing a three-year deal.

Begging to differ with the bleak view of Queensland's situation, the former Test prop said he saw plenty of positives at Ballymore, including strong momentum for cultural change following a string of key front-office appointments.

The low-risk appointment puts the Reds squarely in the market for Gasnier if he decides to return home for a tilt at the 2011 World Cup after his Stade Francais deal ends next winter.

The pair remain in close contact on the phone but McKenzie stressed his priority in getting proactive on the recruitment front was harvesting the state's rich local talent and also luring home the likes of Wallabies vice-captain Barnes from NSW.

"There are some names, you don't have to go back very far, Berrick Barnes is a player that seemed to reluctantly leave," he said.

"He would be a guy worth talking to pretty quickly, and there's a bunch of others.

"We're going to work very hard in that space.

"It's not about filling the team full of players from overseas or even other provinces.

"You don't want to keep ignoring and shutting the door for potential recruits coming up the line."

Ironically it was Barnes' shock decision to jump ship to the Waratahs which ultimately cost Mooney his job, and also partly prevented long-term candidate Michael Foley, the NSW forwards coach who played a key role in his signing, from putting his hand up.

Barnes has a one-year deal with an option for a second at the Waratahs, opening the door for a huge fight for his services, including an expected big play by Melbourne.

McKenzie felt the new appointments of former Wallabies greats Rod McCall, Tim Horan, Daniel Herbert and Dan Crowley to key positions had put the Reds on the right track.

"That actually presents a great opportunity for cultural change and a new direction," he said. "I'm not scared of change, I like it.

"We can't continue to doing the same things and expect to get a good result."

Former Wallabies coach Connolly originally threw his hat in the ring as a one-season caretaker before the QRU decided they definitely wanted a long-term option.

The coaching advisory group of QRU chairman McCall, Crowley, Horan and Brett Robinson considered Connolly as an interim measure but felt there remained risk in waiting for Foley or other candidates to become available for 2011.

"The people coming available to us weren't head coaches and they were untried as head coach and that was another risk," McCall said.

"I also thought the timing of the team needs some structure going forward now."

While McKenzie will double up as forwards coach, Mooney has been discussed about as a potential backs coach but it appears unlikely he'll be given a lifeline.

The QRU is also poised to announce their new chief executive to replace Ken Freer next week after three candidates met the board on Thursday night.

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